FINAL: Steelers 21, Eagles 31Bruce Gradkowski, who came in at quarterback in the closing seconds of the third quarter along with the majority of the second team, tried to get things rolling but the offense again was forced to punt.
It looked like the Eagles were going to extend their lead when Henry Josey broke free for a 70-yard touchdown, but a holding call negated the play. Another touchdown, an 18-yard reception by B.J. Cunningham, was also negated by a penalty. The Steelers got another break when Alex Henery's 31-yard field goal went wide right and the Eagles came up empty on the drive.
Gradkowski got the offense going with a 25-yard completion to Martavis Bryant and then hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 33-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 31-14.
The Steelers continued to move the ball late, with Gradkowski engineering another scoring drive, capping it with a three-yard touchdown catch by Martavis Bryant to close the gap to 31-21.
Third Quarter: Steelers 7, Eagles 31The Steelers starting offense came out to start the second half, but again they struggled to move the ball. On a third-and-nine Roethlisberger hit Markus Wheaton for 10 yards, but that would be about all they could muster and had to punt again.
The Eagles second-team offense, with Mark Sanchez at quarterback, came in against the Steelers first-team defense for their first drive of the half. The Eagles drove from their own 40-yard line, on nine-plays, and finished it off with a one-yard touchdown run by Matthew Tucker for a 24-0 lead.
Things clicked for the Steelers on the ensuing drive. Roethlisberger hit Brown for gains of 18 and 22 yards to the spark the offense. Roethlisberger then went to the sure-handed Heath Miller, who pulled in the 27-yard touchdown pass to get the Steelers on the board, 24-7.
The Eagles came right back, once again their second team going against the Steelers first-team defense. Sanchez led the offense on a nine-play, 80-yard drive, with Tucker taking it once again for a one-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 31-7.
Second Quarter: Steelers 0, Eagles 17
The Eagles continued to move the ball on their next possession, starting at their own 23-yard line and culminating with a one-yard run by Darren Sproles. The 77-yard, 13 play drive took 6:13 off the clock, giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead.
Photos of the Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason Week 3 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Steelers offense started to get rolling with a 19-yard completion from Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown, aided by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on. But on first down Roethlisberger looked to throw the ball away, with it instead landing in the hands of a diving Nolan Carroll for an interception.
The defense came up big for the Steelers a few plays later when Troy Polamalu intercepted Foles to give the Steelers the ball back with 9:47 to play in the half.
The Steelers weren't able to move the ball, and came up empty when Shaun Suisham's 46-yard field goal attempt went wide left.
After exchanging possessions, the Eagles got the ball back and converted it into three points on a 36-yard Alex Henery field goal for a 17-0 Eagles lead.
First Quarter: Steelers 0, Eagles 7
On their opening drive the Eagles were able to convert for two first downs, but the defense responded when linebacker Lawrence Timmons hit LeSean McCoy for a five-yard loss and on third-and-15 Ike Taylor broke up a pass from Nick Foles to Riley Cooper.
The Steelers got some movement going on offense on the opening drive when Ben Roethlisberger hit Heath Miller for eight-yards and a first down. Le'Veon Bell took it up the middle for seven yards, and on the next play the Eagles were called for unnecessary roughness when DeMeco Ryans hit Bell, who was considered a defenseless receiver. But a miscommunication in the passing game eventually forced the Steelers to punt.
The Eagles struck first on their next drive, taking it down to the Steelers 22-yard line where Foles hit McCoy, who took it in for a 22-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.
Not in uniform for the Steelers against the Eagles will be: Will Allen, Will Johnson, Lance Moore, Tauren Poole, Shaquille Richardson, Cody Wallace, Greg Warren, Eric Waters and Jordan Zumwalt.
The Steelers are wearing black jerseys, the Eagles will be wearing white jerseys.
